大学英语六级考试拓展阅读练习(4)

　　4 Imagine how much sleep future musicologists will lose over Philip Glass. Throughout his career he has changed his scores to suit the circumstances, trimming them for recordings, for example, because he believes that nonvisual performances benefit from concision. The notion of an immutable, sacrosanct urtext -- the very thing musicologists sift historical evidence hoping to establish -- is entirely alien to him. Still, you would think that if Mr. Glass held anything sacred, it would be the structure and format of Einstein on the Beach. At that operas premiere in 1976, and in its 1984 and 1992 revivals, Einstein played for five hours with no intermission. Free of narrative but rich in associations and imagery -- Einstein as a madly ecstatic violinist but also as the father of nuclear power -- the work unfolded inexorably, its repeated musical phrases creating rhythmic wheels within wheels. The libretto, mostly numbers, solfege syllables and quirky, stream-of-consciousness spoken texts, works its own hypnotic spell. Listeners were free to come and go as they pleased, but some of the works power came from its relentlessness, to say nothing of the quirkiness of Robert Wilsons staging. The version that Mr. Glass and his ensemble presented at Carnegie Hall on Thursday evening swept away the elements that made the work a happening and transformed it into a concert piece: three hours long, with an intermission and with formal seating rules in force. The breadth of the work was presented, if not its full sweep. The two-hour trim was accomplished by deleting sections from all but a few scenes. Some trims were noticeable: Lucinda Childss tale of the multicolored bathing cap was intact, as were the quotations from Carole KingI Feel the Earth Move, but Mr. Bojangles was evicted from this version. Musically, the score survived the trims and might even have benefited from them: The brisker movement from one section to the next highlighted the degree of inventiveness that drives this piece and pointed up passages of real beauty. In Knee Play 3, for example, the unaccompanied chorus sings streams of numbers, yet the music has the grandeur of a sacred setting much of the time and, at others, the energy of a symphonic presto. And Tim Fain, the violinist, gave the solo passages in the second, fourth and fifth Knee Plays and in the climactic, swirling Spaceship Interior scene an electrifying, virtuosic workout. Some of the works magic is in the way its elements pull in opposite directions. The repetition of short phrases, on one hand, can be soporific; yet the wheezing keyboard and woodwind textures and the bursts of choral counting, with sibilants creating their own rhythmic patterns, are invigorating. And because the performance is heavily amplified, timbres seem to melt together: Is that repeating fragment a voice, a violin or the top notes of the organ figure? The ensemble, which included musicians who have been with Mr. Glass from the early days as well as newcomers, gave the score a tight, high-energy readi1. 1. Future musicologists will lose much sleep over Philip Glass because_____ Philip Glass works are consistently changing based on the different context and various external conditions. Philip Glass s music is characterized by its unintelligibility. Philip Glass is ignorant of establishing an immutable, sacrosanct urtext. Philip Glass s works are totally alien to modern and even future audience. 2. To make the opera become a concert, Mr. Glass trimmed _____ the tale of the multicolored bathing cap. the quotations form Carole King. Mr. Bojangles scene. Lucinda Childe s adventure. 3. Which one of the following is NOT true of the new version of Einstein on the Beach ? The former structure and format was kept constantly for the majority part. The version was changed into a concert with a more formal procedure and a more fixed setting. The version was a success partly because of the advantages brought by the trims. The version was tighter than its ancestor. 4. The contrary elements which added charm to the new version were_____ the soporific repetition of phrases and invigorating music. the streams numbers and symphonic energy. the classical violin solo passage and electrifying workout. its innovative nature and authenticity. 5.The passage is mainly _____ a comparison of two versions of Einstein on the Beach . an introduction of a new art form. a study on the influence of trims on musical works. an analysis of Mr. Glass works.

　　文章剖析： 这篇文章主要介绍了音乐家Philip Glass的作品。文章第一段提到Glass作品多变的风格;第二段讲述其作品 爱因斯坦在海滩 的特点;第三段讲述卡内基大厅演出的 爱因斯坦在海滩 版本的删节;第四段第五段讲述新版本音乐特色。 词汇注释： immutable adj. 不变的, 永恒的 sacrosanct adj. 极神圣的 urtext n. 原始文本 sift v. 选拔，精选 libretto n. 歌词 solege n.视唱练习 quirky adj 诡诈的，离奇的 hypnotic adj. 催眠的 brisker adj. 轻快的，活泼的 presto n. 急板乐段或乐章 virtuosic adj. 艺术的 soporific adj. 催眠的 wheeze v. 喘息 timbre n. 音色，音质 难句突破： Free of narrative but rich in associations and imagery -- Einstein as a madly ecstatic violinist but also as the father of nuclear power -- the work unfolded inexorably, its repeated musical phrases creating rhythmic wheels within wheels. The work unfolded. 这是一个简单句，前面的现在分词短语是作为句子的伴随状语(分词被省略)，而最后面的是一个带有主语的分词独立结构，也是句子的伴随状语;而破折号之间的句子是一个独立的结构，用来说明前面的伴随状语。 爱因斯坦不仅是一个疯狂着迷的小提琴家，也是核能之父，而这部作品没有多少叙述，却充满了联想和想象，它冷酷地展现在大家面前，不停重复的音乐措辞在圆圈里又创造出有节奏感的圆圈。 The version that Mr. Glass and his ensemble presented at Carnegie Hall on Thursday evening swept away the elements that made the work a happening and transformed it into a concert piece: three hours long, with an intermission and with formal seating rules in force. The version swept away the elements and transformed it 这是一个复合句，紧跟着主语后面的是以that引导的定语从句，句子宾语the elements后面也是一个用来修饰它的定语从句，该定语从句比较复杂，冒号后面的是一个独立成分，用来解释前面a concert piece。 周四晚上Glass先生和他的演出团队在卡内基大厅进行了演出，这次演出删除了这部剧作事件剧的一些因素，将其转变为一部协奏曲。这次演出历时三个小时，有幕间休息，也有正式的座位规则。 题目分析： 1.Future musicologists will lose much sleep over Philip Glass because_____ 1.未来的音乐学家会在Philip Glass身上耗费许多不眠之夜，因为_____ Philip Glass works are consistently changing based on the different context and various external conditions. Philip Glass的作品在不同的情景和各种外部下不断地发生变化。 Philip Glass s music is characterized by its unintelligibility. Philip Glass作品的重要特点就是非常难以理解。 Philip Glass is ignorant of establishing an immutable, sacrosanct urtext. Philip Glass不屑于创立不变的、神圣的原始文本。 Philip Glass s works are totally alien to modern and even future audience. Philip Glass的作品对于现代甚至是未来的观众来说是完全陌生。

　　A ☆☆☆ 推理题。文章刚开始就提到未来的音乐学家会在Glass身上耗费掉许多睡眠，引申来看就是Glass的作品会很耗费人的精力。接下来文章就介绍了Glass作品的特点，格拉斯的作品会因环境、时代的变化作出许多变动，他不相信那种永恒不变的文本，这也就可能是未来音乐学家要耗费许多精力在他身上的原因。文章下面还举了具体的例子说明了他如何把自己的歌剧改编成协奏曲，因此，A最为符合原文。 2. To make the opera become a concert, Mr. Glass trimmed _____ 2. 为了让这部歌剧变为协奏曲，格拉斯先生删节了_____ the tale of the multicolored bathing cap. 彩色游泳帽的故事。 the quotations form Carole King. 引用Carole King的话。 Mr. Bojangles scene. Bojangles先生的场景。 Lucirda Childe s adventure. Lucirda Childe的冒险经历。 C ☆☆☆ 细节题。文章第二段中提到演出的版本删去了两个小时，而且删节比较明显。在说明删节的内容时，作者却指出了一些完整的情节，这一点容易让考生混淆，所以就需要从中挑出那些哪些是删节了的。原文提到，Lucirda Childe彩色游泳帽的故事是完整的，引用Carole King的话 我感到了地动， 也是的，而Bojangles先生却被逐出了，因此，答案为C选项。D选项有一定的迷惑性，Lucirda Childe的故事实际上就是彩色游泳帽的故事，但是选项中用了adventure这个词是无中生有，因此可以排除该选项。 3. Which one of the following is NOT true of the new version of Einstein on the Beach ? 3. 关于 爱因斯坦在海滩 下列哪个陈述是错误的? The former structure and format was kept constantly for the majority part. 原来的结构和形式大部分没有改变。 The version was changed into a concert with a more formal procedure and a more fixed setting. 这个版本被改成了一个协奏曲，形式更加正式、同时环境也更加固定。 The version was a success partly because of the advantage brought by trims. 这个版本获得成本部分在于所作的删节。 The version was tighter than its ancestor. 这个版本比其原作要更紧凑。

　　A ☆☆☆ 细节题。题干要求找出关于 爱因斯坦在海滩 这部作品描述错误的选项。选项A，文章第二段提到Glass先生将这部剧作的结构和形式视为神圣，表演了5个小时，可是在新版本中删去了2个小时，其结构和形式应该发生了变化。因此，这个选项有可能是错误的。B在文章第三段提到;C在文章第四段中提到，这部作品可能还因为删节而获益，因为章节之间的变化更快了，凸现了主要的美。D，文章第四段提到章节之间的变化更快，还有最后一段的最后一句，Glass先生的演奏团队给了这个版本一个紧凑的解读，这两处都可以反映出这个版本更为紧凑了。比较而言，A陈述是错误的。 4. The contrary elements which added charm to the new version were_____ 4. 为这个新版本增添了魅力的相矛盾的元素是_____ the soporific repetition of phrases and invigorating music. 催人入睡的重复的短语和令人振奋的音乐。 the streams numbers and symphonic energy. 数字串和交响乐力量。 the classical violin solo passage and electrifying workout. 经典的小提琴独奏和电子化的加工。 inventiveness and real beauty. 创造性和真正的美。 D ☆☆☆☆ 细节题。文章的最后一段指出，这部作品的魔力部分就在于里面有相异、相冲突的元素，一面是短语不停重复让人催眠的效果，但是发出喘息声的键盘乐器、木管乐器以及突然爆发的读数合唱，还有那些独创的咝音节奏，听起来都那么令人振奋。而因为演出大大增强，音质仿佛也融合在了一起。那重复的片断是人的声音，是小提琴还是管风琴的高音?而不管是跟随Glass先生一直演出的团队还是新来的人员，都把乐谱唱的紧实而高昂。前三项都是这些特点的一方面，而D以精练的语言最好地概括了这些特点。 5.The passage is mainly _____ 5.这篇文章主要是_____ a comparison of two versions of Einstein on the Beach . 爱因斯坦在海滩 两个版本的比较。 an introduction of a new art form. 介绍一种新的艺术形式。 a study on the influence of trims on musical works. 对音乐作品删节影响的研究。 an analysis of Mr. Glass works. 对Glass先生作品的分析。

　　D ☆ 主旨题。这篇文章主要介绍了Glass先生作品 爱因斯坦在海边 ，突出表现了其作品的一些独特之处。选项A，文章虽然两个版本都提到，但并不是对这两个版本的比较;B不符合原文;C关于原文提到了，但只是文章的一小部分内容而已;D选项，可以看出全文都是对其作品的分析，相对来说比较切合题意。因此，正确答案为D选项。 参考译文： 设想一下未来音乐学者得在Philip Glass身上要花掉多少不眠之夜啊。在他的职业生涯中，Philip为适应环境而改变乐谱，比如为了录音而修改乐谱，因为(相对的)简洁能使非视觉表演获益。音乐学者希望通过搜索历史证据可以建立那种永恒的、神圣的原始乐谱概念，但他在这一点上有完全不同的想法。 但是，如果你认为Glass先生还是觉得有神圣的东西的话，那就是 海滩上的爱因斯坦 的结构和格式。1976年这部歌剧的首次公演，以及1984年和1992年的重演中， 爱因斯坦 没有停歇地表演了五个小时。爱因斯坦不仅是一个疯狂着迷的小提琴家，也是核能之父，而这部作品没有多少叙述，却充满了联想和想象，它冷酷地展现在大家面前，不停重复的音乐措辞在圆圈里又创造出有节奏感的圆圈。歌词大多都是数字、视唱练习的音节和怪异的意识流口语文本，创造出一种催眠的咒语。听众可以自由来去，但是这部作品的力量就来源于它的冷酷，更不用说Robert Wilson离奇的舞台布置了。 周四晚上Glass先生和他的演出团队在卡内基大厅进行了演出，这次演出删除了这部剧作事件剧的一些因素，将其转变为一部协奏曲。这次演出历时三个小时，有幕间休息，也有正式的座位规则。如果说这次演出并没有将这部剧作的全部内容展示出来的话，至少其雄浑的效果得以展现出来。缩短的两个小时是通过删去几幕的部分达到的，有些删节非常明显，比如Lucinda Childs彩色游泳帽的故事是完整的，还有引用Carole King的话 我感到了地动 也没有删掉, 但是Bojangles先生却被逐出了这次剧演。 从音乐上来讲，尽管作了删节但乐谱还是获得了成功，而且应该说是得益于删节。从一节到下一节轻快的移动突出了其独创性，突出了具有真正美的篇章。比如在 膝盖戏3 中，没有伴奏的合唱队唱着流畅的数字，但是这时的音乐却有一种庄严的色彩，而其他章节中又体现了和声急板乐曲的力量。小提琴手Tim Fain在第二、第四和第五 膝盖剧 中进行了独奏，而在高潮的漩涡式的 太空船内部 一幕中，进行了电子化、艺术性的加工。 这部作品的魅力部分在于里面的元素朝向不同的方向。短语的反复出现一方面有催眠的效果，但是发出喘息声的键盘乐器、木管乐器以及突然爆发的读数合唱，还有那些独创的咝音节奏，听起来都那么令人振奋。而因为演出大大增强，音质仿佛也融合在了一起。那重复的片断是人的声音，是小提琴还是管风琴的高音?而不管是跟随Glass先生一直演出的团队还是新来的人员，都把乐谱唱的紧实而高昂。